FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct. 23, 2014)-- After a week of non-conference matches the University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball squad returns to Great Lakes Valley Conference play this weekend, hauling down to the Kansas City area to face a pair of West Division opponents. The Rangers take on Rockhurst University on Saturday before facing William Jewell College the following day.
 
UW-Parkside and Rockhurst hit the court at 5 p.m. on Saturday with the Rangers and Cardinals set to tangle at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Live stats and video will be available for both contests. The matches are the final road contests of the regular season for the Rangers who close their GLVC slate with five straight home matches beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (13-8, 6-5 GLVC) won three of its four non-league engagements last week, helping the GLVC dominate the seventh annual Mizuno GLVC/GLIAC Crossover Tournament in Aurora, Illinois.
 
The Rangers opened the week on Monday, earning a dramatic come-from-behind win against Northern Michigan University. The Rangers trailed 2-0 against the host Wildcats before claiming the final three sets of the night, escaping Michigan's Upper Peninsula with a 3-2 (15-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-13) victory.
 
The Rangers continued their winning ways on Friday, downing Saginaw Valley State University 3-1 (16-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-22) to open the Crossover Tournament. UW-Parkside earned a split the following day, downing Northern Michigan for the second time in a week, claiming a three-set sweep (25-14, 25-10, 25-19) before succumbing 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 15-10) to Michigan Tech University in a rematch of the season opener. UW-Parkside's two wins at the tournament helped the GLVC retain the title, dominating the GLIAC by winning 37 of the 48 matches played.
 
Jackie Langer paces the Ranger attack, averaging 2.9 kills per set while Rebecca Roembke and Jeni Heller, averaging 2.6 and 2.3 per set, respectively. Megan Pekarek is the primary setter with 7.8 assists per set while Lauren Hickson chips in 2.6 per set.
 
Sonja Burnson owns a team-best 80 blocks (eight solo) while five Rangers have at least 10 service aces with Roembke leading the way with 15. Jessi Mainczyk tallies 3.2 digs per set with Meghan Conley adding 3.0 per set.
 
UW-Parkside has thrived on the road this season, winning six of their nine true road games (67 percent).
 
About the Hawks: Rockhurst (18-3, 9-2 GLVC) sits in second place in the GLVC West Division standings and have won six of its last seven matches. The Hawks finished with a 2-1 mark at the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover, netting 3-1 wins over both Northern Michigan and Saginaw Valley State before finishing the event with a 3-1 setback to Grand Valley State University. Rockhurst was back on the court this Wednesday, rolling non-league foe Newman University 3-0.
 
RU has been tough to beat inside Mason-Halphin Fieldhouse, winning all 12 matches this season and owning a 31-2 record inside the facility since 2012.
 
Morgan Rietzke and Preecy Seever lead the Hawks in kills, both collecting 3.2 per set while Katie Loescher adds 2.5 per set. Whitney Kostal is Rockhurst's leader in assists with 11.6 per set while on the defensive end, Anne Hellwege and Lauren Poulicek average 4.0 and 3.7 digs per set, respectively.
 
About the Cardinals: William Jewell (3-18, 1-10 GLVC) heads into the weekend having dropped 10 of its last 11 games. The Cardinals lone win during that stretch was a 3-0 win over Lake Superior State University in the opening day of the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover Tournament. Jewell fell 3-0 to Wayne State University (Michigan) and 3-2 to Tiffin University to finish the annual event before getting swept 3-0 by Wayne State College (Nebraska) on Tuesday night.
 
Christina Pratt and Kaylee Marquardt are the heavy hitters for Jewell, leading the team with 2.2 and 2.0 kills per set, respectively. Amy Lindhorst tallies 5.6 assists per set with Lesley Iron collecting 4.2 digs per set.
 
Crossover Magic: Over the past three seasons, the Rangers have compiled a 8-1 mark at the annual Mizuno GLVC-GLIAC Crossover Tournament. UW-Parkside steamrolled the GLIAC with a perfect 3-0 mark in both 2012 and 2013 while posting a 2-1 mark at the event this season.
 
NCAA Stat Rankings: UW-Parkside ranks 27th nationally (out of 287 teams) in total blocks with 175 on the season. Individually, Sonja Burnson sits 29th, averaging 1.14 blocks per set.
 
GLVC Preseason Prognostications: UW-Parkside was picked to finish sixth in the East Division in the 2014 GLVC Coaches' Preseason Poll, released on Aug. 26 by the league office. The Rangers collected 58 points in the rankings and was four points shy of fifth place McKendree University. Defending champion University of Indianapolis was picked to win the East Division followed by Lewis University, University of Southern Indiana and Bellarmine University. In the West, Truman State University claimed the top spot followed by Rockhurst University, University of Missouri-Saint Louis and Missouri University S&T.
 
Road Warriors: UW-Parkside's opening seven matches were all on the road along with 12 of the first 14. The schedule balances out towards the end of the season with the final five regular season matches all at home inside DeSimone Gymnasium.
 
DeSimone Advantage: Over the past four seasons, UW-Parkside has compiled a record of 36-14 in home matches at DeSimone Gymnasium. The Rangers were 9-5 at home last season with two of the five losses coming at the hands of nationally-ranked foes.

Parkside's Paciero: Head Coach Christine Paciero begins her fourth season at the helm at UW-Parkside, owning a career mark of 130-85 and a 67-47 record with the Rangers. Paciero compiled a 63-38 record in three seasons at Dominican University (2008-2010) before taking over the reins at Parkside. She notched her 100th career win in the 2013 season opener, downing Anderson University on Sept. 6.
 
All-Academic: The UW-Parkside volleyball squad earned both the Team Academic All-GLVC Award and the AVCA Team Academic Award for the first time in program history during the 2013-2014 academic year. The Rangers boasted a team grade point average of 3.38.